Yeah, the small Bamboo Fun was not expensive and it worked just fine. The size of your tablet should coincide with the size of your monitor. If you're using a laptop, a smaller tablet is better; where a desktop might call for a medium or large tablet. I would say a "medium" sized tablet is good for both, and will work just fine for a beginner to digital art. Just my two cents.

Hmmm, that sucks. I use a 55 inch LCD TV. I guess I'll go for a small one, and get a 20(ish) inch monitor.
Anything has to be better than using a $10 mouse though, I won't even bother trying to learn any digital techniques yet.